First of all, welcome to the forum.

Each country has their own turnaround time for processing family permits. My personal experience for example when I applied for mine, I had to mail it (as that was their process) to their offices in New York, and I lived in Northern Virginia. But I did get my family permit in just a few days, no red tape whatsoever. It helps if you have the supporting documentation as clear and current as possible.

Some people here have reported taking months and months for getting the family permit. Others, a few weeks. A general rule of thumb is, after you receive their letter stating the application is in process, follow up once every 2 weeks for the first 2 months, then elevate that to a phone call every week. They will not deny your wife the permit simply because you follow up too much.